Book picks similar to
Cave Diver by Jake Avila


thriller
adventure
crime
a-top-shelf

Terms of Restitution


Denzil Meyrick - 2021
    Following the advice of his priest and mentor, he moves clandestinely to London and becomes an ambulance driver. But when his old second-in-command Malky Maloney tracks him down on a London street, Finn knows he must return. Both his real family and his crime family face an existential threat from Albanian mobsters determined to take control of the Scottish underworld.Under the watchful eye of his charismatic mother, he must try to look after his lovelorn younger daughter and her older sister who is pregnant to his old enemy Joe Mannion’s son. His estranged wife, who has more than just a business relationship with Mannion, and his remaining son, crippled while serving in Afghanistan also require his attention. But most of all, he must take back what is his.Facing the forces of law and order under Detective Chief Superintendent Amelia Langley, a ruthless gang of Albanians and a beautiful but deadly Italian woman, Zander Finn struggles for survival in a rollercoaster ride of brutality, tenderness, misplaced loyalties and the utterly unexpected. The path to redemption is a perilous one, and it begins to look like Finn should have stayed in London.

The Mistake


Katie McMahon - 2021
    One mistake. A thousand consequences.Kate and Bec are sisters, but they could not be less alike.Bec lives the perfect life: perfect house, perfect husband, perfect children. That is, until she meets Ryan - ten years her junior, wild and exciting, his arrival makes her question everything she thought she wanted.Her sister Kate's life is anything but perfect. Her career as a model ended dramatically over a decade ago; now she lives alone miles from her family, and has been lonely for a long time. That is, until she meets kind, funny Adam. But something doesn't quite add up, and as he avoids Kate's questions, she begins to wonder if he is too good to be true.Bec thinks Adam is only after her sister's money, and Kate can't see why Bec would throw her life away for Ryan.But as tensions mount and secrets are revealed, which sister is about to make a mistake?A novel about mistakes and choices, relationships and forgiveness, The Mistake will have you turning pages long into the night. Not since Liane Moriarty and Marian Keyes have we met such sharp, sassy characters and been captivated by such a suspenseful, tantalising read.

The Family Doctor


Debra Oswald - 2021
    Stacey and the children had been staying with her after fleeing his control, and Paula is haunted by the thought that she couldn't protect them when they most needed it. How had she missed the warning signs? How had she failed to keep them safe?Not long after, a patient with suspicious injuries brings her anxious young son into Paula's surgery. The woman admits that her husband hurts her, but she's terrified to leave for fear of escalating the violence, and defeated by the consistent failures of the law to help her.Can Paula go against everything she believes to make sure one woman is saved, one child spared? She isn't motivated by revenge. She's desperately trying to prevent a tragedy . . .A riveting, provocative novel about women's fury, traumatic grief, new love, deep friendship, and the preciousness of life, The Family Doctor asks the questions: Should you cling to faith in a flawed system, or take control the only way you can? Can a good person justify taking a life to save a life?'Mesmerising and heart-breaking. A perfect story for this moment in time.' Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go'The Family Doctor brings urgent news, taking the reader into suburban battlegrounds kept private by the threat and actuality of violence. In crystal-clear prose, Debra Oswald unveils an all-too-believable world of love and loyalty stretched to the limit, with agonising consequences when the best people are forced to do the worst things. When is it justified to fight fire with fire? The moment you finish this novel you will want to find someone else who has read it and talk all night about the vital questions it raises.' Malcolm Knox, author of Bluebird'The Family Doctor is a compelling thriller - fast-paced, gripping and frightening. But is more than that because it is a story that draws desperately needed attention to domestic abuse in this country, to institutional indifference, to the devaluing of women's lives. The Family Doctor is a cry for change.' Sofie Laguna, Miles Franklin Award-winning author of The Eye of the Sheep and Infinite Splendours'Brilliant. So compelling on so many levels.' Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands'Debra Oswald is always deft at capturing the nuances of female friendship and romantic attraction, but this time she brings them to a pitch of pulse-racing intensity. Delving into the dark world of domestic violence and society's abject failure to protect those most vulnerable, she has produced a gripping thriller, brimming with heart and intellect.' Geraldine Brooks, author of The Secret Chord

Threat Intelligence: The Shatterhand Code Part 1


Aiden L. Bailey - 2016
    THE STRIKE IS IMMINENT. THE ENEMY IS UNKNOWN…Striking from the shadows, cyberterrorists unleash the ultimate digital weapon. Known as ‘Shatterhand’, this insidious program seizes control of the world’s militaries, manipulates the media… and even impersonates the President of the United States. And former intelligence officer Simon Ashcroft may be the only man aware of the sudden global threat…Ashcroft’s investigation leads to Casey Irvine, an innocent tourist on safari in Kenya. The sinister Shatterhand program has targeted Casey for assassination. And the terrified woman has no idea why she is marked for death…Battling deadly terrorists, corrupt police, and even military forces, Ashcroft and Casey struggle to uncover the vast conspiracy. Can they survive long enough to expose the true enemy behind the Shatterhand Code?

The Last Albatross


Ian Irvine - 2000
    And he knows just how to do it. Hercus attempts to blackmail his old friend Ryn Hardey into helping him, for they share a terrible secret from their student days. Ryn can’t stop Hercus without implicating himself, but Hercus won’t take no for an answer. And Ryn has another urgent problem. His research on Antarctic ice sheet melting is showing alarming results and he can’t work out why. Then Hercus’ secret gets out, and it’s worth a fortune to a doomsday ecological cult. Soon Ryn and his partner Jemma are on the run from ruthless eco-terrorists and professional hitmen. As Ryn struggles to work out what will happen when the ice melts, Jemma tries to uncover Hercus’ catastrophic plan – before it’s too late.Global warming, unstoppable climate change and environmental terrorism collide in The Last Albatross – Book One in the shatteringly prophetic Human Rites trilogy.Praise for The Last Albatross.“The action-packed plot of doomsday cults and planetary collapse isn’t far from the truth.” The Times (London).“A chilling suspense story set against a backdrop of 21st Century environmental depletion and cultural degeneration. Portrays a frighteningly plausible future.” US Library Journal.“A well-crafted near-future eco-thriller.” Roland Green, US Booklist.

The Ex Girlfriend


Nicola Moriarty - 2019
    After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe.The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble accepting their break-up, but Georgia thinks there's more to the story. She also has the feeling someone is watching her.When everything starts to go wrong at work, at home, in her old friendships and her happy new relationship with Luke, Georgia starts to feel truly afraid.Cadence wants what she has. What would she do to get it?And can Georgia trust anyone at all? Praise for Nicola Moriarty 'I devoured it' Marian Keyes 'Accelerates in intensity and sheer originality with every page' Australian Women's Weekly 'Dramatic, mysterious and compelling' Vogue

The Girl She Was


Rebecca Freeborn - 2020
    It was in the past, and Layla didn’t dwell on the past.’Layla was just like any other teenager in the small town of Glasswater Bay: she studied hard, went out with her friends and worked at the local cafe after school. But when her attractive, married boss turned his attention on her, everything changed.Twenty years later, Layla's living a quiet life in the suburbs with a loving husband and two children. She's finally left the truth of what happened behind. Until she receives a text message: I know what you did.For years, she’s outrun her past, turning away from her friends and her home town. Now her past is about to catch up.

One Last Child


Anni Taylor - 2020
    The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air....Three-and-a-half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned to their families...one by one.All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.Speculation grows that the mysterious abductor is enacting a cruel revenge plot due to a murderer that Kate put in jail years before.Kate isn't sure what to believe. But one thing is certain - she's about to begin the battle of her life. When the children were first stolen, she was prevented from investigating the case.But now, Kate will be relentless in uncovering the identity of the abductor and discovering what happened to Ivy.

Scars


Dan Scottow - 2021
    Is the house haunted or is something far more sinister living within the walls?As secrets and lies begin to unravel, Lucy starts to question what is real. But one thing seems certain, if scars cannot heal, people will never forgive…

The Hunted


Gabriel Bergmoser - 2020
    . .and the nightmare begin?Frank owns a service station on a little-used highway. His granddaughter, Allie, is sent to stay with him for the summer, but they don't talk a lot.Simon is a dreamer and an idealist, in thrall to the romance of the open road and desperately in search of something.Maggie is the woman who will bring them together, someone whose own personal journey will visit unimaginable terror on them all. . .'With echoes of Deliverance and Battle Royale, the Australian outback-set The Hunted is a truly terrifying, breathlessly exciting novel. It gut-punches you in the first few pages and doesn't let you recover until the final, thrilling climax. An extraordinary book.' M. W. CRAVEN What readers are saying: 'A high octane roller-coaster of a novel, brilliantly written with strong characters to cheer for. Just don't read it before going to sleep like I did.''This type of horror/action thriller isn't my usual thing but boy, did I love this book.''This entire book was just pure, fast-paced tension and I loved every insane page of it.''I'd say it's a hard book to put down, but a couple of times I found the suspense heightened enough that I needed a break. That's how good it was.''Even the squeamish would find it difficult to put this book down for very long.'

The Never Game


Jeffery Deaver - 2019
    The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a "reward seeker," traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America's tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry. "Escape if you can."When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past--The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life?"Or die with dignity."Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims even as he pursues the kidnapper across both Silicon Valley and the dark 'net. Encountering eccentric game designers, trigger-happy gamers and ruthless tech titans, he soon learns that he isn't the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast.The Never Game proves once more why "Deaver is a genius when it comes to manipulation and deception" (Associated Press).

Barrenjoey Road


Neil Mercer - 2021
    An idyllic beachside community. A series of abductions and rapes. So what happened to Trudie Adams?Back in the 1970s, Sydney's Northern Beaches felt like a slice of paradise to those lucky enough to live there. Bordered on one side by the glistening blue of the Pacific, and on the other by stunning rugged bushland, it was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone. No wonder the area was known as 'the Insular Peninsula'. So, when a popular local girl, 18-year-old Trudie Adams, disappeared one night while hitchhiking home from the surf club dance, her family, friends and community were devastated. It just seemed wrong that something so terrible could happen in a place so perfectly picturesque.But as police began to investigate, the dark underbelly of the peninsula was exposed. It was a place where surfers ran drugs home from Bali, teenagers hitchhiked everywhere due to a lack of public transport, predatory men prowled the streets, and countless young women were abducted and raped, crimes rarely reported or, if they were, rarely investigated.Inspired by the Walkley Award-shortlisted #1 podcast and acclaimed ABC TV series, and containing information never previously revealed, Barrenjoey Road is a compelling expose of why the disappearance of Trudie Adams was never solved. It takes us all the way to the top, from a criminal perpetrator with a lifelong record and links to organised crime who was never formally accused, to police corruption at the highest level.

Beyond Bad


Sandra Lee - 2002
    Cruel and evil, Katherine Knight showed no mercy when she butchered her lover in a crime that put her behind bars in an Australian prison for a record life sentence.Swinging from a meat-hook, John Price's entire skin was in one piece, including his hair, face, ears, nose, mouth, and genitals. Slashes and stab holes tore through the human pelt, a testimony to the wounds he suffered before dying.Knight, a 44-year-old abattoir worker, had stabbed father-of-three John Price 37 times, skinned his body, cooked his head, and served him up as a meal for his children. Drawing on first-hand accounts, Beyond Bad tells what motivated Knight to commit such a heinous act and how it rocked the small town where she lived. This is a horrifying story of love, lust, revenge, and murder that is all the more shocking because it really happened.©2002 Sandra Lee; (P)2003 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Revenge


James Patterson - 2018
    Now settling down to civilian life in London, he has plans for a safer and more stable existence. But the shocking death of a young woman Shelley once helped protect puts those plans on hold.The police rule the death a suicide but the grieving parents can't accept their beloved Emma would take her own life. They need to find out what really happened, and they turn to their former bodyguard, Shelley, for help.When they discover that Emma had fallen into a dark and seedy world of drugs and online pornography, the father demands retribution. But his desire for revenge will make enemies of people that even Shelley may not be able to protect them from, and take them into a war from which there may be no escape.

Nothing Short of Dying


Erik Storey - 2016
    That’s how long Clyde Barr has been away from Colorado’s thick forests, alpine deserts, and craggy peaks, running from a past filled with haunting memories. But now he’s back, having roamed across three continents as a hunter, adventurer, soldier of fortune, and most recently, unjustly imprisoned convict. And once again, his past is reaching out to claim him.By the light of a flickering campfire, Clyde received a frantic phone call for help from Jen, the youngest of his three older sisters. Then the line goes dead. Clyde doesn’t know how much time he has. He doesn’t know where Jen is located. He doesn’t even know who has her. All he knows is that nothing short of dying will stop him from saving her.Tagging along with Clyde on this strange, desperate, against-all-odds rescue mission is a young woman named Allie whose motivations for hurtling into harm’s way are fascinatingly complex. As the duo races against the clock, it is Allie who gets Clyde to see what he has become and what he can be.